


Winds of Fate; a Breeze Through the Window of One's Heart

by 57_percent



Category: League of Legends
Genre: Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-05
Updated: 2018-12-05
Packaged: 2019-09-07 16:07:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16857136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/57_percent/pseuds/57_percent
Summary: an unknown being that lies far beyond the mortal realm calls; it guides Taric towards destiny, written in starlight within his veins.





	Winds of Fate; a Breeze Through the Window of One's Heart

boredom.

boredom, boredom, boredom, how it hounded him so - this paragon of a man who once stood tall as a beacon of excitement and zeal was now reduced to a state of tossing pebbles from the ground beneath him against a wall. within the small alcove that he had positioned himself in, nestled away between an irreparable stone wall and a downy tree, he longingly awaited the time where he could return to the city & hopefully avoid a stern talking to from his superiors - however, the hours (in reality, minutes) seemed to drag on endlessly. were time a furnace, the coals being shoveled in to power it were barely the size of a grain… a pebble, which Taric - time’s conductor - tossed vapidly to the ground. a sigh fell from parted lips, harmonizing with the delicate, repetitive pelting of stone against stone.

tap.  
tap.  
tap.

he stood. were he to spend any more time here, he may just wind up tossing his own head against the wall as well. monotony truly wasn’t his style, nor was simply sitting around and waiting for something to happen. his state of mind’s shift brought along an insatiable urge to explore, one that came on as suddenly as the gust of wind which blew a lock of hair into his line of sight. hurriedly, a hand shot up to push his hair out of the way (an encumbering occurrence that he had unfortunately grown accustom to throughout the years in which he had grown his hair out.)

as his eyes were freed from the sightless prison of his hair & the last vestiges of his hand passed alongside it, his vision was now redirected to quite a welcoming sight - a forest, barely a stone’s throw (he chuckled to himself) away. before he could quite process what he wished to do, he felt his feet being pulled towards the depths of the vast foliage before him. something far beyond the branches called top him, something that soothed his heart & soul like a mother’s heartbeat.

(thum. thum. thum.)

heavy like the heartbeat of the earth, the pounding of a drum, raindrops grazed the skies and pelted the land that respired far below the clouds. the rain and wind picked up with each step that Taric took, with each length he trod further into the leafy canopy before him. this perverse escapade of his exhilarated him, and the rain, drove him yet further into the woods; far away from the Demacian standard, far away from his responsibilities, he fled. he knew naught of where he would end up, though one thing ran true in his soul - he felt at peace.

 

after a short while, the knight found himself deep in the heart of the woods, lavished by the gifts of each branch that he pushed through. the scintillating & enchanting aroma of the passing rain intoxicated him, whilst the promise of adventure lured him deeper, yet deeper into the unknown landscape that he passed through. not once did he consider simply stopping and waiting for the rain to pass, as the sheer allure of the moment wrapped him in exquisite (and metaphorical) silks & furs, the likes of which he had never quite felt before - he wanted more.

and there, in the near distance, a spot of light shone.

a clearing in the forest, no doubt - though the fact that no rain seemed to pass through its domain intrigued Taric to no end. his heart pushed him onward, away from his burdens and towards that which made his very soul soar. much as how his feet had guided him into this forest in the first place, they now sent him out of it - and within this clearing, the rain did not fall; nor did the howling wind stir; nor did light filter through the trees. singing far above, a soft dulcet tone rang out. instinctively, Taric raised his head; a bird, the likes of which he could never have begun to fathom, sat perched upon a low-hanging branch as it trilled and chirped without a fraction of a care in the world. shimmering wings of night blue and the gold tinge of stars called to him (or so it felt - the bird’s song enchanted him, and it seemed that each tone it produced was for his ears only) and without a spot of warning, it took flight into the obscured canopy that lead yet deeper in the maw of the woods. something deep within him told Taric to follow.

and follow he did.

for hours he stalked through the underbrush, scuffing his knees and slicing his hands on the brambles & twigs which lined the forest floor, in swift pursuit of the beckoning songstress who bore plumed, downy cloth over her frame. he quickly lost track of how long he had been running. minutes? hours? days? weeks? he was unsure. the melody that she sung enthralled him. a trance; that was what this was. his own personal reverie, this fugue for a star-bound lover, it was a never-ending harmonic that bound him and pulled every last fathomable facet of his being deeper into it with each note that struck the sky. he stumbled; and like that, he lost sight of the bird. it disappeared as it had entered his life, swiftly and with naught but a trace of its very existence left within his mind’s eye.

he glanced around him. at some point during his chase, the forest had basked itself in a gloomy aura, and he figured it would get yet darker before it got any lighter. once more, the rain fell heavy - though the leaves were not there to protect him any longer. in fact, it seemed as though they were deliberately pouring the gallons of rainwater onto him, chilling him to the bone. as outrageous a thought as it may have been to consider that as the truth, the water which glossed over him & plastered his clothes to his back was all too real. were he a man of common sense he would attempt to find himself a shelter of sorts, though Taric was never quite the kind of man who considered that which he stood face to face with. and thus, the man trod upon the unbeaten path once more.

 

each subtle sound that the world threw his way was heard; each rustle of a leaf, each gust of wind, they all fell upon willing ears.  
he felt… peaceful.

accepted.

almost as though the forest had spread its wings and lovingly ushered him into them.  
even the rain had eventually stopped for him.

 

however, a forest could only foster a man for so long. the trees thinned out, the canopy of leaves became little more than a tarnished awning, and the shade that once harbored him now broke free into midday sunlight. the discordant sound of passing rain now morphed into a steady stream, as just beyond the border of the forest, there stood a tall waterfall; the sun barely crested beyond the bold horizon it created for itself, casting rays of light across the crystal-clear brook below it - the bed of the basin seemed to glow as well. Taric felt inclined to kick off his boots, and permit his weary feet a chance to rest; the plush grass surrounding the area caressed him, and with each passing step, left him feeling absolutely refreshed. nothing quite restored his energy like the natural world, a location untouched by civilization - the monotone rampart of high Demacia’s cities were beautiful, certainly, but they were vastly restricting. the echelon of Demacian hierarchy has a tendency to grate at a man when he has been scaling it for most of his life. out here, there existed no walls, no borders, no men, no conflict -

the knight’s feet touched the water. the coast gently ebbed towards his feet & withdrew just as delicately.

doffing his heavy uniform, his worries, his responsibilities, Taric laid himself bare to the skies & lowered himself into the sun-warmed water. liquid pooled over him from every which angle; subsumed, the water swathed his thighs, pulled his hips yet deeper into the mire, and it grasped at his torso, his chest, his neck - whatever the maestro of the mist and murk could flow around, it would encompass. gratification tingled through every inch of his body, appeasing his self-indulgence within this breathtaking lake. closed eyes, open heart.

inhale.

exhale.

feel the life in your veins,  
your lungs.

 

time was a foreign concept. his wounds were mended, his fatigue, drained from his body by the pulsating ebb and flow of the water - permeating his very soul, the waves brought Taric to the edge of life’s finest pleasures & permitted him a nuanced glance into the cosmos.

 

with a shift, he lifted his torso above the waves. his hands rose to pull the sybaritic waters across his chest. the very feeling comforted him, for whatever odd reason - though he knew he had to leave, he wished to never turn back from these waters, nor did he know where he would return to if he were to part. as his eyes fluttered open, his vision transfixed itself onto a particularly stunning ray of light that manifested just above the peak of the waterfall. rays of light stemmed out from the central source that flamed before the sun, twisting and contorting themselves into the shape of some eldritch cross between a buck’s proud antlers and the majesty of a coniferous tree’s branches.

though it took on no tangible or interpretative form, Taric could feel the being’s lucid shape within his very soul; though it spoke naught, Taric understood its message with the utmost of coherence;

 

 

“go home.”

 

 

wind howled in the distance, and within a matter of seconds, the clouds rolled in alongside the rain. the form upon the peak dissipated, dissolving and falling away with each drop of rain that hit its form. all light seemed to drain from the area, and a dire feeling knotted the knight’s gut. something was wrong. something was off. the wind blew his moistened hair directly into his face, which caused him to recoil - something was deeply wrong. something held this land and pulled it deeper into obscurity with each second he spent here. all the beauty and joy he had felt prior was gone; something so beautiful was stolen away from him in an instant. and within his soul, he could tell that this would not be the last time this happened.

the being’s message rang in his ears.

go home.  
go home.  
go home.

vestments in hand, he ran. he fled far, far away from the rain and fear.

ɢᴏ ʜᴏᴍᴇ.

every blast of wind forced tangled locks of hair into his line of sight, and each time he would turn around to avoid being plunged into the darkness of the woods once again.

  
ɢᴏ ʜᴏᴍᴇ.

  
he ran past the brambles, the branches, the clearings, all which had once distracted him now seemed like a nightmare; tarnished by the dark.

 

ᵍᵒ ʰᵒᵐᵉ.

 

he couldn’t stand it. he couldn’t stand to see the world in this state. he was scared.

 

  
ᵍᵒ ʰᵒᵐᵉ.

 

  
through the woods, he emerged where he had begun; the outskirts of Demacia. the wind was still. the skies were overcast. everything felt off kilter. the northern winds that attempted to guide him upon the proper path had instead returned him to his cage, and back into his restraints.

  
it had led him away from home. away from his true domicile.

 

towards the Demacian walls, Taric stumbled, and his heart palpitated with the pangs of uneasiness; the mere concept of his hearth felt so off-kilter. a foreordained prophecy was branded into his very soul, one that he remained unaware of - one that he had just awoken for himself, unbeknownst to the fact that he was destined from birth to follow the path towards his fate. he would become far greater than man or myth, far above war and combat, surpassing the ages-old standard to which he held himself within the foster home of Demacia. little more than a sole fell glance was all he cast towards the forest, and echoing within his mind, sat two words;

 

 

“ᶜᵒᵐᵉ ʰᵒᵐᵉ.”


End file.
